Congers kids pay for district's bad choices

My neighbors and I have often remarked that Congers is "the red-headed stepchild" of Clarkstown. However, I am appalled that the Clarkstown school board has now given truth to that jest.

The residents of Congers pay their school taxes like every other Clarkstown homeowner. We have watched as school boards profligately spent money on "planetariums" and other boondoggles for other schools, while cracks in the walls of Congers Elementary got a coat of Spackle. Why should the children of Congers alone bear the brunt of years of poor school board fiscal decisions? When "mystery smells" were detected at Laurel Plains, no one objected to the cost of those children being maintained as a school community in a leased building. Why should the students, parents and teachers of Congers be treated differently now?

This is not just an issue for Congers parents. An elderly neighbor trying to downsize just had a bid on her home withdrawn as the prospective buyer did not want to buy in a community without a school. The decline in value is more than monetary; Congers Elementary has for generations been the heart of the community.

The Clarkstown school board is supposed to represent all of Clarkstown, not just New City. Perhaps, the parents and residents of Congers should ask for their school taxes to now be readjusted to reflect the decline in service provided by the Clarkstown schools.